The Berkeley Centre

The Berkeley Centre, originally built as a Town Hall and Market House in 1866 by John Francis Basset of Tehidy, stands on a corner site in Camborne. It was enlarged in 1911 and subsequently altered. Constructed from granite and sandstone ashlar with a slate roof, the building is a large rectangular block expanded significantly along Church Street. It exhibits an Italian palazzo style.

The prominent four-stage corner tower is a key feature, with each stage slightly set back and separated by cornices and bands. The lower band of the tower is inscribed with the date of construction, "ERECTED BY JOHN FRANCIS BASSET 1866." The ground floor now has shop fronts. The upper floors of the tower have windows with raised, keyed surrounds—4-pane sashes on the first floor and mesh windows on the second. Clock faces flank sunk panels on the top stage. The tower is crowned with a low, lead pyramidal roof and a weather vane.

The original Town Hall section, facing Commercial Street, is two storeys and seven bays wide, with a two-bay facade onto Church Street. Ground floor alterations have replaced the original arcade of round-headed doorways and windows with large, rectangular openings. The first floor features 4-pane sashed windows within raised, keyed surrounds. The 1911 expansion, originally a single-story Market House, was raised to three storeys (with a two-story link for the first two bays) and is 12 bays wide. A symmetrical design dominates, aside from the second-floor detailing. A projecting pedimented entrance archway, raised to two storeys in 1911, features a large round-headed arch with a quoined surround and keystone. The ground floor of the 1911 extension incorporates tall, round-headed windows with rusticated quoins and stepped voussoirs. The first floor mirrors the design of the original Town Hall. The second floor repeats the round-headed window motif with matching surrounds, and a keyed oculus flanks the pediment. The west return wall, rendered, has four bays with similar window detailing. The interior remains uninspected.